Job Description

Leads the US Patient Engagement Center of Excellence (CoE), owning the full scope of patient support operations, innovation, and measurement across all US Business Units. Accountable for the CoE’s service catalog, vendor ecosystem, operating model, and outcomes. Initial charge for the leader of the organization is to compliantly integrate upstream innovation and pre-Rx capabilities with operational delivery of post-Rx support to close gaps in care across the patient journey.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and own the CoE operating model and multi-year roadmap, including organizational structure, capability build priorities, and FTE planning and structure across all verticals

• Set US market patient support strategy across all capability verticals — patient experience, access, affordability, adherence, direct-to-patient, and field reimbursement — translating commercial brand priorities into patient support program design

• Govern decision making for the cross-capability vendor ecosystem — including hub, affordability, Direct-To-Patient (DTP) fulfillment, and Field Reimbursement Manager (FRM) partners — with oversight of contracts, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), performance expectations, and renewal decisions

• Make final decisions on capability scaling, including which piloted capabilities transition to operations and which are sunset, partnering with vertical leads

• Own platform performance management and patient support outcome reporting, including cross-vertical KPI tracking, insight-to-action routines, and quarterly reporting to senior leadership

• Work with DHH leadership on patient data architecture, CRM, and analytics infrastructure, ensuring a fit-for-purpose patient data environment

• Ensure Legal, Privacy, and Compliance are embedded in program design, vendor contracting, data use, and patient-facing execution

• Serve as the primary senior interface to brand teams, BU leadership, and commercial executives, aligning CoE priorities to launch timelines and commercial planning cycles

Point of Collaboration:

• BU Commercial Leads (Specialty Pharma & Infectious Disease, Oncology, Rare Disease): Aligning CoE priorities and service catalog to brand needs, launch timelines, and commercial planning cycles

• Integrated Account Management (IAM): Overall specialty pharmacy strategy and contracting approach that affect patient support workflows across verticals

• DHH (Data, Hub and Hub Technology): Data architecture, CRM platform, analytics infrastructure, and dashboard buildout to support cross-vertical performance management

• Legal, Privacy, and Compliance: Pilot approvals, data usage protocols, patient communications review, and vendor contract oversight

• Field Excellence / Commercial Operations: FRM deployment model, field team coordination, and SP&ID integration touchpoints

• Finance: CoE budget management, vendor spend oversight, and program ROI reporting

Necessary Skills & Competencies:

• Minimum of bachelor's degree required

• 15+ years in biopharma patient services, commercial operations, or hub/vendor management, with experience leading patient support organizations or CoEs at multi-brand across hub, access, affordability, adherence, and FRM

• Demonstrated ability to set and operationalize multi-year strategy, including building shared-services operating models and translating commercial brand strategy into patient support program design

• Demonstrated ability to govern vendor ecosystems across hub, affordability, DTP, and FRM partners, including performance management and contract oversight; $10M+ hub vendor relationships strongly preferred

• Strong executive presence with ability to align senior stakeholders, including brand leadership, BU commercial leads, legal, compliance, and analytics

• Strong understanding of legal, compliance, and privacy requirements across patient support program design, vendor contracting, data use, and patient-facing execution

• Familiarity with patient data environments (hub data, claims, EHR) and associated compliance constraints; experience managing P&L or operating budgets in a shared-services or CoE model

Required Skills:

Biopharmaceuticals, Confidentiality, Corporate Productions, Cross-Cultural Awareness, Cross-Functional Leadership, Customer Centric Focus, Executive Presence, Human Diseases, Innovation, Market Research, Organizational Performance Management, Organizational Structures, Pricing Processes, Product Management, Results-Oriented, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Decisions, Strategic Planning

Preferred Skills:

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US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

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As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

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The salary range for this role is

$282,200.00 - $444,200.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

08/18/2026

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